A Breath of the Stars
by BiowareFreak
Summary: The end of the Reapers is nigh, Commander Shepard must fix the mess that has been left behind after this war that affected species far and wide across the Milky Way. But what of her crew? They have landed on a desolate uncharted planet with no way to communicate, will anything be the same again?
1. Chapter 1

The Catalyst had given the Commander three choices; control, destroy or synthesise the Reapers. Even in her damaged state, she knew in her heart that the destruction of the Reapers was the only viable option, too many countless people had been lost to the vicious cycle that had been created by the Leviathans. The galaxy's different races should be allowed to flourish, the rule of survival of the fittest would prevail. Risa crawled painfully towards the blue tower of light as the Catalyst watched on in bemusement. As the Commander made her way to the end of the platform, she took a deep breath before slowly putting her hand into the cool blue light. An eruption of luminescent blue light exploded around her, throwing her back against the steel walls. Then everything went dark.

 _...The darkness must not be breached..._

 _Shepard's eyes opened, before her Garrus held out a hand and lifted her onto her feet before pulling Risa into a tight hug. Confusion washed over her, how is he here? She had watched their Kodiak leave Earth. She tightened her grip on the Turian, he surprisingly wasn't wearing his armour but she didn't mind as it meant she could get a more snuggly grip on her better half, "Garrus..." She breathed, he hushed her and stroked her hair gently. Above her she could hear the familiar click of his mandibles, her heart swelled with relief and affection. Happiness washed over her like a wave breaking on the golden sands of Santa Monica, her hometown._

" _You're safe now, Shepard, I have you" he breathed as he buried his head in her honey coloured hair, the familiarity bringing her comfort, reminding her of the many times he came to her cabin to reassure her that she was making a difference. "Even if we save one person it is worth it" Risa heard his encouraging voice in the back of her mind._

 _Garrus was always the best at rebuilding any walls of confidence, it was why she loved him._

 _Shepard heard familiar voices behind her and turned to see their owner's, "Shepard! Shepard is alive!" Tali shrieked and ran over, almost tackling the human commander. Shepard chuckled as she regained her balance before wrapping her arms around the Quarian in friendly embrace. "Shepard! I thought I would never see you again!" she cried, Shepard could hear the faint sobs from inside the Quarian's helmet._

 _They had made it, all the work and effort Shepard had put into this war had paid off. They were all alive along with the other countless millions that could now live freely because of her. The thought brought tears to her eyes as she was surrounded by her friends. As she greeted each member of her squad in turn, she had come to realise that they were no longer just her crew. They were her family._

 _Shepard returned to Garrus' embrace, looking up into his ice blue eyes and made the first genuine smile in what felt like a lifetime. He kissed the top of her head and whispered "You're safe now, we all are thanks to you" he breathed as he held her tightly to his chest, Risa could hear the smile in his voice which in turn only made her grin wider._

 _Suddenly she felt herself pulling away from Garrus' hold, the chill from their separationl caused her skin to turn to gooseflesh. Her feet started to move independent of her body, even her head turned away from them. In the distance she could see a bright light, her mind began to panic._ What was happening? Why am I walking away? I don't want to leave! Don't make me leave them! _Her mind screamed out in refusal to leave, but no matter what she shouted her feet kept moving her further and further away from her loved ones. Risa managed to turn her head round to see them, they wore an expression of sadness and disappointment. They shouted after her, but made no attempt to move._

 _Shepard where are you going? Come back! We need you!_

 _Shepard! Come back! We need help!_

 _Shepard! Don't go! Please!_

 _Shepard! Stay!_

 _Shepard!_

 _Shepard..._

 _Her friends voices called after her as she walked away, getting fainter, quieter... deeper... slower..._ "Shepard... wake up... The darkness cannot be breached"


	2. Chapter 2

Consciousness descended upon Shepard, everything was silent. Pure and saddening silence. All she could hear was her rasping breaths from inside her helmet, a sliver of light crept into her vision. Pain riveted though her body, she was wedged between two large slabs of metal. Her breathing was heavy, thankfully her helmet had saved her from the dust and debris. She closed her eyes and the faces of her loved ones were imprinted in her mind, sorrow at the loss made a salty tear fall down her cheek _._ Risa dared to open her eyes once more and searched around to looking for anything that might help her, but nothing she saw gave her any hope of being found anytime soon. If she wanted to get out, she knew she'd have to do it herself.

Shepard tried to move her right arm, a pained cry escaped her lips as spikes of heat and pain ran all the way to her fingertips. She moved her head to see what damage had been done to her. A grimace washed over her face as she saw the ugly yellow swelling that surrounded her elbow, _great, dislocation_. Risa closed her eyes and gave herself a silent prayer that her left arm was still usable. Her fingers flexed on command, a sigh of relief escaped her lips. A deep gash the length of her finger was lain into her arm, Shepard lifted her arm and awkwardly pulled off her helmet. So far she couldn't tell if she had saved a single soul, or if it was just her out here amongst the rubble. But first she had to realign her right arm, a horrid but necessary job to if she wished to survive. With a hesitant gulp, she gingerly wrapped her free hand around her forearm and clicked it back into position with sickening pop. With no one to hear her, an almighty scream escaped her lips the pain of it sending currents of tears pouring down her face. The swelling wouldn't go down for another few days, hopefully she hadn't fractured anything else otherwise finding other life forms would prove difficult. With her good arm she pushed with all her might onto the slab in front of her and with a low screech the metal slowly moved from her body. With the slab gone, she carefully stepped down onto what looked like flat ground but she honestly had no idea where she was or how to find help.

With her arm back in place she made a makeshift sling from bandages in her medkit, Shepard shakily got to her feet and dusted off her armour. She limped her way through the rubble until she had found her way out of the wreckage. Her eyes widened as she took in her surroundings, smoke rose from the horizon, the blast had blown everything back similar to a nuclear blast. Nothing in Risa's sight had seemed to escape the blast, except her. The thought made her teeth grind, her interaction with the Catalyst was supposed to save the galaxy but this level of destruction was something even the great Commander Shepard found hard to swallow. Shepard leaned back onto the ruined wall, sliding down the rough concrete as grief began to wash over her. Her dream flickered back to life at the front of her mind, 'the darkness must not be breached' a voiced echoed back to her, _why are the Leviathans speaking to me in my dreams?_ Risa pondered, pushing it to the back of her mind she moved on.Smoke rose in wisps from the crumbling buildings, occasionally rubble falling to the ground could be heard. Allowing herself a moment to collect herself, Risa's green eyes scanned over her surroundings in an attempt to find her bearings, this was still London. There had to be a clue as to where to go somewhere in this bombsite of a city.

Shepard headed west, listening carefully for any signs of life. As she wandered the city her mind drifted to those she had lost to this war. Mordin, who gave his life to fix the mistake that was the Genophage. He was a dear friend, Risa remembered when he sang to her and how she doubled over laughing as it just wasn't something you could pin him with. Then there was Legion, it had arrived on the Normandy during her assault on the Collectors. She had been fascinated by it. Legion led the Geth to a new future, one where they might live peacefully with the other races of the galaxy. Risa had lost many friends on her way to where she stood now, but each loss was a building block in the architecture of her integrity. She would never falter, never give up otherwise it meant that they died in vain and Risa would not allow that to happen.

None of the signs in London made any sense to the American commander, they may as well have been written in native Krogan for all the good it did.

After a few hours of fruitless searching Risa had given up and had found refuge inside a ruined clothes store. The letters hung eerily from their metal frame, squeaking every now and again when a breeze rolled through. Shepard stepped inside the shop and peeled off her armour, awkward as it was with one arm, until she was simply in her thermals and boots. As soon as the last piece of armour clattered to the floor, Risa decided to have a look around the shop and find warm clothes, London certainly wasn't Santa Monica.

All of the clothes that were in the front of the store were decimated, either from the Reapers or from the blast. But with a swift kick, the storeroom door swung open and the delightful sight of intact clothes was bestowed upon Risa. She walked in and found herself amidst a storm of Christmas-wear, Risa had almost forgotten about Christmas, she had been so busy for the past year or so freeing worlds and rescuing entire races from the abominable Reapers that she had very nearly forgotten about this holiday. She looked back out of the door, how many families hadn't made it to see this day? Although she had children of her own, Risa thought of the countless kids that had their lives cut short but the Reapers, watched their family being turned into husks or cannibals. Too many. Her emerald eyes watered at the thought as she moved back over to the ugly Christmas jumpers before her and picked one that had a giant snowman with lightbulbs for eyes, she slid it over her head, tying up one of the sleeves as she couldn't get her arm through it before walked back out of the storeroom. Shepard settled herself in a corner at the front of the store and huddled herself into her jumper.


End file.
